CJ McBean anchors 'Shady6' secondary, continuing legacy of elite high school football players at Gardena Serra

CJ McBean, Tre Harrison, Marcellous Ryan, and 2027 national recruit, Duvay Williams, are continuing the elite standard of skill players at Gardena Serra High.

Gardena Serra's CJ McBean / Tarek Fattal

Gardena Serra defensive back CJ McBean is listed at 6-foot-1, 185 pounds. Orange Lutheran tight end Aj Ia is 6-foot-6, 245.

That discrepancy didn't matter to McBean, though.

In Serra's season opener at home, McBean hit Ia at full speed after the big-framed tight end caught a pass in the open field. To Ia's credit, he held onto the ball for a sizeable gain, but McBean's ferocious play was on display.

"Holy cow. Serra's secondary might be the best in the state," Orange Lutheran coach Rod Sherman said. "Duvay Williams is the No. 1 corner in his class. One guy is committed to Cal. The other two are top-level recruits."

The main characters for the ultra-talented defensive secondary include Marcellous Ryan, Duvay Williams, Tre Harrison, and McBean. Devohn Moutra and Wesley Ace Jr. are part of the group, too.

Sherman added: "McBean is a Power 4-caliber player."

HIT STICK

CJ McBean with a big hit. AJ Ia able to hang on. pic.twitter.com/AzMh1UFpg4

— Max Torres (@mtorressports) August 24, 2024

Once again, Serra — now 1-1 after a 36-0 win over Warren last week — possess elite skill players that dazzle on Friday nights. The defensive secondary is continuing to carry the torch forward under longtime coach Scott Altenberg, who had players like Adoree Jackson, Robert Woods, and most recently, Rodrick Pleasant, come through the Cavs program.

"Defensively, our backfield is loaded," Altenberg said.

Orange Lutheran gutted out a 21-13 win on Aug. 23, but despite the loss, Serra's secondary made an impression.

• Top 25 CIF Southern Section rankings, Sept. 1

It's not rare for defensive groupings to have nicknames. In the NFL, the defensive secondary for the Seattle Seahawks was called the 'Legion of Boom', anchored by Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas. Many moons ago there was the Pittsburgh Steelers' 'Steel Curtain', a ferocious defensive front led by Joe Greene.

In Gardena, the defensive secondary is known as the 'Shady6'.

"It was made by the defensive back coaches and defensive coordinator during the Serra 2021 CIF State squad," McBean said. "It's called the Shady6 because it started off with six defensive backs containing Rodrick Pleasant, DK Fields, Tre Harrison, Cordell Montgomery, Jason Mitchell, and Lamont Shamburger."

Marcellous Ryan of Gardena Serra / Tarek Fattal

Tre Harrison is committed to Cal. Junior corner Marcellous Ryan has offers to Arizona, USC and Washington. Sophomore Duvay Williams is considered the No.1 corner in the nation with offers to Alabama, Georgia, USC, Tennessee and Texas A&M.

McBean, who is a dynamic player on both sides of the ball, is a 4-star recruit with offers to Oregon State and San Diego State.

"I'm also in talks with Idaho," said McBean, who finished the game against Orange Lutheran with 10 tackles and one caused fumble on defense. He had 117 yards on three catches on offense.

"I'm being recruited primarily at defensive back," McBean said. "I have no preferred position; I just want to get developed wherever I play."

Serra will play against Long Beach Poly (0-2) in San Diego on Saturday in the Honor Bowl. The Cavs are expected to compete with Sierra Canyon (2-1) for the Mission League title. Serra and Sierra Canyon are scheduled to play Nov. 1 in Gardena.

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